The former captain opted to withdraw from future selection on the eve of the FA independent regulatory commission investigating alleged racist abuse towards Anton Ferdinand – in which he was subsequently banned for four matches and fined €277,000 after being found guilty.

And the 31-year-old’s former manager believes England manager Roy Hodgson will struggle to fill the void left by the Chelsea man.

“It's a massive, massive loss for England,' he told The Daily Mail.

“John Terry is a player with unbelievable talent and helped this country so much, and the same for Chelsea too.

“In the end they are his decisions, personal decisions.

“It's difficult for a player to take a position like this but on the perspective of England and qualification it leaves Roy Hodgson in a difficult position bearing in mind the centre-backs he has at his disposal.

“I'm not putting into question the quality of the other players, but he is certainly missing one player of great, great talent.”